EZline or mono for rigging?

[albireo13]

Planning my future WW I kit and starting to get supplies.   I will be sticking with 1/48 scale.  I see some folks use EZline fine and others use mono fishing line.
A few questions ...

Mono seems easy to get but, what thickness for 1/48 scale?   Also, mono is somewhat clear.  Doesn't that look weird as rigging on the plane?   I would think black would
look better.
Do people paint them afterwards?


Thx

[macsporran]

Hi
EZline tends to be favoured by those who stretch rigging from fixed point to fixed point - either a turnbuckle or an anchor point.  In 1/48 most turnbuckles would be way over scale and you have to line them up so carefully, otherwise a superb model is ruined by a tensioned wire attaching to a kinked buckle. It adds no rigidity to the structure and there are worries about whether the elastic might perish over time. The kinking can be resolved by attaching buckles to rings mountings. Many modellers use this and have had no problems so far with degradation.

Mono thread can be threaded through mounting rings and back on itself to tension and superglue in a brass or poly sleeve, but a lot of modellers thread mono right through the wing and out the other side - carefully slicing off end with a razor flush to surface. This usually requires very little, if any touch-up and adds a great deal of rigidity and strength to wobbly undercarriages, struts etc - especially useful with heavy resin wings that might sag otherwise. No known problems of degradation so far.
I tend to use Maxima 2lb or 3lb Chameleon mono fishing line, although "invisible thread" in smoke from craft shops is fine too.

So, you takes your pick...
EZline maybe easier to spot attach end-to-end but more fiddly if working with turnbuckles; Mono simple to thread through wing but may require a modicum of touch-up. Turnbuckles on mono can be added by a blob of paint in 1/48.

EZline difficult to colour as it is elastic but is dark anyway, mono can be colored with a nearly-dry brush n situ, although it,s always worth slipping a piece of scrap paper over wing surface in case you spring some paint on to it.
HTH
Sandy

[WD]

albireo13,
              Some people will take their mono line and run it over the tip of a Sharpie marker, paint marker, etc. in order to give it some color. I once got a gray marker from Hobby Lobby and did this.

HTH,

Warren

[herbarnold99]

I often use both on the same model. They both have their advantages!

[Dirigible-Al]

Hi All
Another thread was started recently on EZLine here:

https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13497.0

[Rob Hart]

Another option:

https://www.ngineering.com/other_detail_stuff.htm

[IanB]

Personally I always use mono, run across a silver permanent marker before fitting. I work in 1:72 so 0.06mm (about 1.5lbs test) is perfectly to scale. It adds a huge amount of strength to the model and there is zero chance of it ever perishing in the future.

Ian

[PrzemoL]

You might have seen my tutorial on rigging in the Rigging for everyone section. I know it does not show 48th scale - because I do not build it. Yet, in 48th I would use the same method as shown there for 32nd scale. Only use smaller eyelets (Bob's buckles has them) and a mono of 0.10mm diameter. I also prefer black line but recently I bought a fishing line which is not black enough. I started painting it with steel colour Vallejo paint. Together with the dark background this gives me the look I find very convincing - darkish with shiny metalic blinks.
Turnbuckles are another issue - I suggest the method with "eyed" turnbuckles on both ends combined with the self made wire eyelet - ensures the correct inlinement of the turnbuckle with the tightened line.
EZ line is something I tend to avoid but building WNW Stahltaube I gave it a try, only to rig the very flexible bits which would not stand the forces from tightening the mono. I managed to use EZ in the same way I use the monofilament, with eyelets and tubes. It is a nighmare work but doable. I try to avoid it but sometimes it is a must - also with some delicate control horns and control surfaces. But I would never use it to rig the wing cellules on biplanes models. It does not give that rigidity to the structure.
If you have any question feel free to ask, you can also use PM option
And good luck with your return to modelling!

[albireo13]

Thanks.   Yes, I read your tutorial and found it very helpful.   I learned a lot.   Good stuff.

[Stuart Malone]

Additionally, remember the scale you're working in.  I wrote up a correlation of rigging lines to scale sizes some time ago.  See the attachment to my post in this topic:

https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11548.0

It references the different brands and sizes of lycra thread.  It's not quite spot on.  For instance, a 1/4" cable scaled down the 1/32nd scale would be 0.0078" or 0.198mm.  The nearest lycra thread to it is EZ-Line Fine at 0.0098".

You can do the math to get the real number on any size cable to the scale you're modeling then match it to monofilament.

Stuart